Cute DIY Pin Cushion in just 15mins

Last updated on 14 July 2024

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As a sewist, I love my tools to be cute. I’m using them all the time and I see them all the time so I want to enjoy using them.

Pins are tricky to store, I find. I have my pins in a plastic container, but when you take out one pin, you seem to pick up about 12. And then you drop them on the table, and they roll onto the floor, and you inevitably end up standing on one later. Not the most ideal of situations. A pin cushion is the way to fix this. And this is a very easy, very quick way of making a cute pin cushion.

So when I got angry one day at trying to grab my pins out of a useless container, I threw my hands in the air and decided I needed to make a cute DIY pin cushion and that would solve all my problems.

And it did. Mostly.

How to make a cute DIY Pin Cushion

Supplies for a pin cushion

• Felt or material
• Stuffing of some time
• Thread
• Needle
• Scissors
• Optional: Card
• Optional: Sewing Machine
• Optional: Iron

Step one: Decide on a shape

The first thing you want to do is decide on the shape of your pin cushion. This is completely up to you, but here are some simple shape ideas:

• Sun
• Flower
• Cactus
• Heart
• Cloud
• Moon
• Star
• Hexagon

I used a Sun for mine, as all I had to do was draw a circle and add spikes. I didn’t use a template at all but if you would like one, I’ve made one for you, with a bunch of different easy shapes. You can download your free pin cushion templates here (no email required!). 

Step two: Cutting

Cut out your template, then either trace your template onto your fabric or felt, or pin your template to the fabric and cut around it. Then cut out your fabric.

I used felt for this for two reasons: firstly, it was what I had on hand at the time. And secondly, I didn’t have to worry about fraying edges. Felt is a really could option for this, and you can pick up sheets of it for a decent price. You can, of course, use scrap material to make a pin cushion, too,  you’ll just need to adjust Step Three.

You will need 2 x your shape in your fabric, as there will be a back and a front.

Step three: Sewing

If you have a non-fray fabric like felt, then you can simply place the two pieces of your fabric on top of one another, wrong sides together. Then using your needle and thread (or sewing machine!), sew around the outside of the shape to create a pocket. Make sure you leave about an inch or two open, as you will need to have a hole to put the stuffing into.

💡 Note: I used embroidery thread for my sun because I wanted to be able to see it on my design. You can use whatever thread you like.

If you’re using a fabric that is easily going to fray, then you can sew your two pieces right sides together (either with your needle and thread or a sewing machine), and pull your pin cushion through the hole you will leave (as per the non-fray fabric instructions), to bring the right sides to the outside. If you do this, you could also give your pin cushion a press with the iron so that your seams are nice and flat.

💡  For both ways: Make sure you secure each end of your sewing well.

Step Four: Stuffing

Take your stuffing and stuff your pin cushion until it’s the desired stuffed-ness. Remember you’ll be shoving pins in this so you want to make sure it’s nice a sturdy. Err on the side of overstuffed.

If you don’t have any stuffing, you can also use scraps of fabric. Just make sure it’s really packed in there as you’re going to be filling it with pins.

Step Five: Closing up

Take your needle and thread (even if you sewed your pin cushion with a sewing machine), and sew up the hole you used to put your stuffing into. Tie off the ends tightly and snip the tail.

Step Six: Put a pin in it

And you’re done! Fill up your sun with pins!

Creating your own cute DIY pin cushion is so much easier than having a container of pins that you have to dive into every time you need one. The likelihood of them going everywhere with a pincushion is much lower than if you had a container. Not impossible, of course, but slim.

What do you think? Going to give this cute DIY pin cushion a go? I’d love to see what you create!

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Disclaimer: This post was originally written in 2015, and updated in 2024. The images currently have ‘The Need for DIY Speed” on them as I was running a series that year. They also have ‘From L&P to English Tea’ as that’s what the blog was called back then! Oh how far we’ve come! Photographs will be updated shortly.